Mississippi Valley Conference (Wisconsin)

Mississippi Valley Conference

Conference	WIAA
Founded	1989
Sports fielded	19 men's: 10 women's: 9
Division	Division 1
No. of teams	7
Headquarters	La Crosse, Wisconsin
Region	La Crosse Metropolitan
Official website	www.mvconference.org

The Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) is a high school athletic conference in southwest Wisconsin. Founded in 1989, the conference and its member schools belong to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and are located in the La Crosse-Onalaska-Sparta combined statistical area.

History

1933-1965

30km
19miles

   

Location of Mississippi Valley Conference Members (1938-1959)

The first incarnation of the Mississippi Valley Conference was founded in 1933 and contained five smaller high schools in western Wisconsin: Alma, Arcadia, Durand, Mondovi and Osseo. ^[1] Augusta joined from the Little Eight Conference in 1935, ^[2] replacing Alma after their return to the Bi-County Conference. Whitehall followed in 1936 ^[3] while maintaining dual membership in the Trempeleau Valley Conference (which they left in 1938). Black River Falls became the conference's seventh member school when it joined in 1938. ^[4] These seven schools competed together for two decades before three left to become charter members of the new Dairyland Conference in 1959: Augusta, Osseo and Whitehall. ^[5] Chippewa Falls and Cochrane-Fountain City took their place that same year. ^[6] Menomonie was also accepted into the conference for 1959 but withdrew before ever playing a game. ^[7] Three schools exited the conference in 1963: Black River Falls for the South Central Conference, Chippewa Falls for the Big Rivers Conference and Cochrane-Fountain City for the Dairyland Conference. ^[8] For the last two years of its existence, the Mississippi Valley Conference competed as a three-school circuit until Arcadia left for the Coulee Conference in 1965, thus ending the conference's run. ^[9]

1989-present

The current incarnation of the Mississippi Valley Conference was formed in 1989 ^[10] to accommodate for the growing attendance in schools in traditional rural-based conferences and shorten travel distances for its members. ^[11] Holmen and Onalaska joined from the Coulee Conference, Sparta and Tomah from the South Central Conference, and La Crosse Central High School and Logan High School from the Big Rivers Conference. Shortly after, in 1997, Aquinas High School joined from the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference of the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association, a private school athletic league, to become the conference's seventh member. ^[12]

In 2014, West Salem began competition in the Mississippi Valley Conference for football only, remaining in the Coulee Conference for all other sports. ^[13] Aquinas left the MVC's football roster in 2019 when they joined the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League as associate members for that sport. ^[14] The next year, a comprehensive realignment of Wisconsin high school football conferences was implemented by the WIAA with input from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association to run on a two-year cycle. ^[15] All six of the MVC's public high schools (Central, Holmen, Logan, Onalaska, Sparta and Tomah) remained in the conference with associate members River Falls (Big Rivers) and West Salem (Coulee) filling out the ranks. ^[16] River Falls and West Salem returned to their respective conferences for the 2022-2023 realignment cycle with two schools from the Badger Conference (Baraboo and Reedsburg) replacing them. ^[17] This alignment will stay in effect through at least the 2026-2027 competition cycle. ^{[18] [19]}

Sports sponsored

The MVC sponsors 19 varsity sports. They are:

• Fall: Football, boys' soccer, girls' tennis, volleyball, boys' cross country, girls' cross country and girls' golf
• Winter: Boys' basketball, girls' basketball, gymnastics, wrestling boys' hockey.
• Spring: Boys' track, girls' track, boys' golf, boys' tennis, girls' soccer, baseball and softball.

List of member schools (1989-present)

Current members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Year Joined
Aquinas	La Crosse, WI	Private (Catholic)	307	Blugolds		1997
Holmen	Holmen, WI	Public	1,215	Vikings		1989
La Crosse Central	La Crosse, WI	Public	1,029	Riverhawks		1989
La Crosse Logan	La Crosse, WI	Public	738	Rangers		1989
Onalaska	Onalaska, WI	Public	923	Hilltoppers		1989
Sparta	Sparta, WI	Public	909	Spartans		1989
Tomah	Tomah, WI	Public	919	Timberwolves		1989

Current football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Primary Conference
Baraboo	Baraboo, WI	Public	919	Thunderbirds		2022	Badger
Reedsburg	Reedsburg, WI	Public	897	Beavers		2022	Badger

Current associate members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Participating Sports	Primary Conference
West Salem	West Salem, WI	Public	607	Panthers		2014	Soccer, Volleyball	Coulee

Former football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Seasons	Primary Conference
River Falls	River Falls, WI	Public	1,114	Wildcats		2020-2021	Big Rivers
West Salem	West Salem, WI	Public	607	Panthers		2014-2021	Coulee

Conference membership history (1933-1965)

Full members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Alma	Alma, WI	Public	65	Rivermen		1933	1935	Bi-County	Dairyland
Arcadia	Arcadia, WI	Public	417	Raiders		1933	1965	Coulee
Durand	Durand, WI	Public	307	Panthers		1933	1965	Independent	Dunn-St. Croix
Mondovi	Mondovi, WI	Public	250	Buffaloes		1933	1965	Independent	Dunn-St. Croix
Osseo	Osseo, WI	Public	255	Chieftains		1933	1959	Dairyland	Cloverbelt
Augusta	Augusta, WI	Public	226	Beavers		1935	1959	Dairyland
Whitehall	Whitehall, WI	Public	216	Norse		1936	1959	Dairyland
Black River Falls	Black River Falls, WI	Public	481	Tigers		1938	1963	South Central	Coulee
Chippewa Falls	Chippewa Falls, WI	Public	1,454	Cardinals		1959	1963	Big Rivers
Cochrane-Fountain City	Fountain City, WI	Public	175	Pirates		1959	1963	Dairyland

Football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Seasons	Primary Conference
Galesville	Galesville, WI	Public	N/A	Galloping Gales		1946-1948	Coulee
Gale-Ettrick	Galesville, WI	Public	N/A	Redmen		1949-1958	Coulee

Membership timeline

1933-1965

Full members

Football members

1989-present

Full members

Football members

Membership map

Mississippi Valley Conference

6km
3.7miles

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

   

Location of Mississippi Valley Conference full members:

1

Aquinas

2

Holmen

3

La Crosse Central

4

La Crosse Logan

5

Onalaska

6

Sparta

7

Tomah

List of state champions

Fall sports

Boys Cross Country

School	Year	Division
La Crosse Central	1990	Division 1
Aquinas	2007	Division 3
Aquinas	2018	Division 3
Aquinas	2019	Division 3
Aquinas	2020	Division 2
Onalaska	2021	Division 1

Girls Cross Country

School	Year	Division
La Crosse Central	1989	Division 1
La Crosse Central	1990	Division 1

Football

School	Year	Division
Aquinas	2007	Division 5

Girls Golf

School	Year	Division
Onalaska	1989	Single Division
La Crosse Central	1990	Single Division
La Crosse Central	1991	Single Division
La Crosse Central	1992	Single Division
La Crosse Central	1993	Single Division
La Crosse Central	1998	Single Division
Aquinas	2017	Division 2

Winter sports

Boys Basketball

School	Year	Division
Onalaska	1992	Division 2
Aquinas	2003	Division 3
Aquinas	2008	Division 3
Aquinas	2011	Division 3
Onalaska	2012	Division 2
Aquinas	2013	Division 3
La Crosse Central	2017	Division 2
Aquinas	2025	Division 4

Girls Basketball

School	Year	Division
Holmen	1995	Division 2
Aquinas	2018	Division 4
Aquinas	2019	Division 4

Gymnastics

School	Year	Division
Onalaska	1997	Division 2
Onalaska	1998	Division 2
Holmen	2005	Division 2
Holmen	2006	Division 2

Boys Wrestling

School	Year	Division
Aquinas	1999	WISAA (Single Division)

Spring sports

Baseball

School	Year	Division
La Crosse Logan	2001	Division 1
Aquinas	2007	Division 3
Aquinas	2017	Division 3
Aquinas	2024	Division 3

Girls Soccer

School	Year	Division
Aquinas	2015	Division 4

Softball

School	Year	Division
Holmen	1999	Division 1
La Crosse Logan	2015	Division 2

Boys Track & Field

School	Year	Division
Aquinas	2011	Division 2
Aquinas	2019	Division 3
Aquinas	2021	Division 3

Girls Track & Field

School	Year	Division
Aquinas	2012	Division 2
Aquinas	2019	Division 3

Summer Sports

Baseball

School	Year	Division
Holmen	1990	Single Division

List of conference champions

1933-1965

Boys Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
Arcadia	7	1938, 1939, 1940, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958
Augusta	7	1936, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1952
Durand	7	1934, 1937, 1941, 1946, 1959, 1962, 1965
Black River Falls	4	1953, 1954, 1955, 1961
Mondovi	3	1956, 1957, 1964
Osseo	3	1935, 1950, 1952
Chippewa Falls	2	1960, 1963
Whitehall	1	1942
Alma	0
Cochrane-Fountain City	0

Football

School	Quantity	Years
Arcadia	12	1939, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959
Mondovi	9	1943, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964
Black River Falls	7	1940, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1959, 1960, 1961
Durand	3	1945, 1947, 1963
Chippewa Falls	1	1959
Osseo	1	1954
Whitehall	1	1946
Augusta	0
Cochrane-Fountain City	0
Gale-Ettrick	0
Galesville	0

1989-present

Boys Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
La Crosse Central	10	1997, 1998, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
Holmen	9	1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2025
Aquinas	8	2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2025
Onalaska	8	1996, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
La Crosse Logan	7	1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2008
Tomah	1	2005
Sparta	0

Girls Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
La Crosse Logan	14	1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Aquinas	13	1999, 2001, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Holmen	5	1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005
La Crosse Central	5	1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
Onalaska	3	2013, 2014, 2021
Sparta	1	2006
Tomah	1	1992

Football

School	Quantity	Years
La Crosse Central	11	1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2009, 2012, 2023, 2024
Onalaska	11	1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
La Crosse Logan	9	1994, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2024
Holmen	8	1992, 2002, 2003, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2024
Tomah	5	1995, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2011
Aquinas	2	1997, 2008
Reedsburg	1	2024
River Falls	1	2021
West Salem	1	2017
Baraboo	0
Sparta	0

Rivalries

The Mississippi Valley Conference has a number of intense rivalries, both based on proximity, and performance.

City

• Central Vs. Logan - The two La Crosse public schools' intense rivalry is well publicized by local media and is highlighted by football's Battle for the Ark of Victory.
• Central Vs. Aquinas - A heated battle for city supremacy and the overall city championship.
• Logan Vs. Aquinas - A heated battle for city supremacy and the overall city championship.

Other main rivalries

• Holmen Vs. Onalaska - Proximity spices up this rivalry, as the two school districts overlap city boundaries. Both schools also came over from the Coulee Conference together.
• Tomah Vs. Sparta - Both came over from the South Central Conference and are separated by 17 miles of Interstate 90. The closest conference foe for both teams.
• Reedsburg Vs. Baraboo - Both moved to the MVC as affiliated members and have one of the longest rivalries in the state.

In addition to these main rivalries, many other rivalries have developed based on different sports and success. In the early 2000s, Holmen and Aquinas had fierce competitions in Boys' Basketball in which tickets were sold out days after going on sale. Additionally, in the early 1990s, Onalaska Vs. Central was a heated matchup in Boys' Basketball. That rivalry was rekindled in the 2010s as both teams regularly competed for state bids. In wrestling, Holmen Vs. Sparta and Holmen Vs. Tomah have come and gone. In Boys' Ice Hockey, Onalaska and Aquinas/Holmen/G-E-T/C-FC hold a battle for the Omni Center rivalry, as both teams play in the same venue.

Many non-conference rivalries are also in the MVC. Onalaska Vs. West Salem, Logan and Central Vs. Eau Claire Memorial and North, Tomah Vs. Black River Falls, and Holmen Vs. G-E-T are all annual football games. Aquinas maintains matchups with old conference members from their WISAA days.

Rivalry Week

In many different sports, particularly but not limited to football, basketball, and wrestling, the three big rivalries will frequently be played on the same days, coining the phrase Rivalry Week in football and Rivalry Night in other sports. These rivalries are Central Vs. Logan, Holmen Vs. Onalaska, and Sparta Vs. Tomah. Occasionally, Aquinas will be inserted into a city match up or against Holmen or Onalaska on a Rivalry Night.

References

1. "News of Northwest Wisconsin, Mondovi section". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. May 23, 1934. p. 5. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
2. "Durand Cagers Beat Hudson, 21 to 12". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. November 30, 1935. p. 8. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
3. "Whitehall Opens Cage Season on Nov. 10". The La Crosse Tribune. November 5, 1936. p. 12. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
4. "Arcadia Takes New Loop Post". The La Crosse Tribune. March 14, 1938. p. 4. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
5. "Dairyland New Tag". The La Crosse Tribune. November 16, 1958. p. 15. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
6. "Chippewa, Menomonie Join Mississippi Valley League". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. October 30, 1958. p. 18. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
7. "Prior Commitments Force Menomonie To Withdraw From Mississippi Valley". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. November 6, 1958. p. 12. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
8. Gunderson, Jim (March 23, 1963). "Gunning for Sports (Three-School League)". The La Crosse Tribune. p. 4. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
9. Bueldi, Ron (February 26, 1965). "Buckshot". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. p. 13. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
10. "New league given a name". The La Crosse Tribune. November 20, 1988. p. 15. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
11. Seering, Jeff (May 26, 1988). "Some thoughts on realignment". Reedsburg Times-Press. p. 30. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
12. Brown, Jeff (February 14, 1996). "MVC principals agree: Aquinas in". The La Crosse Tribune. pp. C-1. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
13. "WIAA approves West Salem move to MVC for football". News8000.com. October 24, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
14. "WIAA approves football-only realignment plan for southwest Wisconsin schools". SWNews4u.com. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
15. "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 9, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
16. "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 6, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
17. "Football - Teams - 2020 Spring Alternate Regular Season (see COVID Spring-Large and COVID Spring-Small standings)". Wisconsin Sports Network. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
18. "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 14, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
19. "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 10, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2025.

External links

• MVC website